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Thursday, 7 May 2009

Even if there were not a single "traditionalist" ...

The important book by Fr Nicola Bux, "The Reform of Benedict XVI" has been translated into Spanish and the new edition has a foreword by Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. The preface itself is noteworthy and Gregor Kollmorgen has kindly provided a translation at NLM.

In one place, His Eminence speaks of the way in which the term "preconciliar" has been used as an insult "as if an abyss should be created between the "before" and the "after" the Council" and then says:

Today, thanks to the Motu Proprio, this situation is changing notably. And it is doing so in large part because intention of the Pope has not only been to satisfy the followers of Monsignor Lefevbre, nor to confine himself to respond to the just wishes of the faithful who feel attached, for various reasons, to the liturgical heritage represented by the Roman rite, but also, and in a special way, to open the liturgical richness of the Church to all the faithful, thus making possible the discovery of the treasures of the liturgical patrimony of the Church to those who still do not know it. How many times is the attitude of those who disdain them not due to anything other than this ignorance! Therefore, considered from this last aspect, the Motu Proprio makes sense beyond the presence or absence of conflicts: even if there were not a single "traditionalist" whom to satisfy, this "discovery" would have been enough to justify the provisions of the Pope.

It is so heartening to hear such encouragement from the highest authority on the Liturgy besides the Holy Father himself, that the opening of the liturgical richness of the Church to the faithful by the celebration of the classical Roman Rite is something to be valued in itself for the good of souls, even aside from the provision of this form for those who legitimately ask for it.

Many young clergy will also be encouraged with these words from the Prefect:

How many priests have been called "backward" or "anticonciliar" because of the mere fact of celebrating in a solemn or pious manner or simply for fully obeying the rubrics! It is imperative to get out of this dialectic.

I hope that Fr Bux's excellent book (which I have read in Italian) will soon be translated into English.